


too soon

by UnluckiestFridays



Series: Series Twelve [3]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Gen, Regeneration, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:42:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22230508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnluckiestFridays/pseuds/UnluckiestFridays
Summary: Alternate ending to Oprhan 55. The Doctor doesn't find a dreg in the tunnel and is unable to find any oxygen anywhere, thus leading to regeneration.
Series: Series Twelve [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1593247
Comments: 13
Kudos: 62





	too soon

The incessant beeping of the machine on her wrist was irrigating, yet she couldn't even complain about it to anyone. Not only was she lagging behind, her friends and the others already too far ahead, but she was running out of oxygen fast. 

The machine insisted on reminding her every second, advising her to find a source of oxygen otherwise she'd die, but there was none. She was in a tunnel, her friends too far ahead to share any with her, and the atmosphere was made of carbon dioxide rather than what she needed to breathe.

Everything was swimming in front of her and she could feel her hearts pounding harshly in her chest, pumping any remaining oxygen in her body around, desperate to live.

Her legs felt weak, her movements were becoming sluggish, no matter how hard she tried to remain steady and sure with her footsteps and where she placed her feet.

The tunnel was dark and with the blackness invading her vision, she could barely see anymore. She tried to avoid breathing in, knowing she had no oxygen and all that was left was carbon dioxide. It wouldn't do to breathe that in.

She hit something with the toe of her boot and found herself tripping, falling to the ground. Her hands and knees met the rough ground and the last of her oxygen exited her lungs with the force of the fall. A choked sound escaped her and her eyes widened, hands flying to her throat.

As they did, she caught a whirl of gold through her hazy vision. She brought her hands away from her throat and held them in front of her. They were glowing gold with regeneration energy.

She shook her head in denial, desperately. It was too soon- she'd barely been in this body for a year. And these were hardly ideal circumstances to regenerate under anyway, even if she'd been in this body for a millenia. She was already suffocating. Her new body wouldn't last for more than a few minutes before following the same fate as her.

Desperately, she tried to scramble up, golden hands reaching blindly for the tunnel wall for leverage. They only met thin air and she let the hand drop heavily to the ground again. 

She couldn't hear anything, her hearing fuzzy and ringing. The regeneration energy was building up, getting stronger, preparing to consume her and burn her alive, then replace her with a stranger. 

A muffled voice met her ears, concerned and panicked, but she couldn't lift her head from the cold, wet floor. Tears stung her eyes more than the scrapes she'd gained on the palms of her hands, and she closed her eyes tightly.

She had to regenerate, no matter how much she hated the idea. If she wanted to have any hope of saving these people, then she had to do what was necessary, even if it meant she had to die for it to happen.

There was a child at the resort, Sylus, and all she could think about was the young Gallifreyans, mercilessly killed for a lie they had never told because they'd been lumped in with the rest of the Time Lords and had to face the Master's wrath.

She had to save him; she wouldn't let another child die.

"Doctor! What's happening to you?" That was Kane, her voice closer now and forcing its way through her fuzzy hearing.

She pushed Kane away, the regeneration energy almost at its peak. 

"You have to get up, Doctor, they're coming!"

With a shake of her head, the Doctor reached for the wall again with trembling hands, this time finding the bricks and using them to slowly rise to her unsteady feet. Kane tried to help, to drag her along, but she merely shoved the woman away again and held up a glowing hand.

She looked behind her, back the way she'd come down the tunnel, and, in the distance, through her failing vision, spotted several intimidating figures. The dregs. They were getting closer.

There was no way she and Kane were going to survive. There were just too many.

Then, an idea sprang to mind. She was regenerating. A quick blast from her regeneration energy should be enough to get rid of them. It was something they'd never met before, something they wouldn't have been able to adapt to, and the only weapon she and Kane had at their disposal.

She awkwardly turned around, using the wall to hold herself up, making sure Kane wasn't close enough to be hurt, and angled herself towards the dregs.

The regeneration energy bubbled up, climbing up her throat and tickling her chin, enveloping her feet and her shins, curling around her hearts, encasing them.

And then, she exploded. 


End file.
